Friday, August 31, 2012

11 years ago today, Colin and I got married :) Life has it's ups and downs. We support each other through the bad times and share the laughters. Although we have no "human" children but we are truly Bless with all the shelties baby that comes into our life to complete our family.

Before Colin marry me, he is scared of dogs, he is a cat person, he likes animal that is independent. People who knows me well already heard this many times but to those who's not, I've said this to Colin: No dogs, No married! Hahaha ...

Thursday, August 30, 2012

I do like blogging. I am so grateful to friends who read and send comments and emails when I post a problem or anything that I have doubt with. I appreciate all comments and take them seriously and considerably. I love to know there are friends out there who really care.

I posted about taking Sonic to acupuncture a week ago and my friend Rosie suggested Chiropractor. I don't know how the chiropractor slip out of my mind. Thank you Rosie for reminding me, I have made an appointment immediately and got the appointment today to take Sonic to see the lovely Susan Sargent. She has been treating Sizzle and Sonic and me in the beginning of the year.

Susan ran her hand on Sonic today and find some very tight spots, especially in the lower back and near his spine/hip area. After a few flickery treatment, she gave him a good massage to loosen his muscle up. Sonic was probably very sore and he actually didn't mind the "flicking" at all today. Bless my little boy, he is a superstar! He went all mellow when Susan gave him the massage. He loves the massage!

Later when we got home, we went to bed together for a few hours :) Susan said he will be tired and sore but hey, he is full of bean after a good sleep!

This photo was taken @ DiNAS when we went for a walk in the Heath. Poor boy is not allow to play ball or frisbee ... so no good photos for a long time :) I think a plain posing is very boring :)

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

A good time soon comes to the end. We had a great day on Thursday watching Sing's babies in the Final, follow by a brief Sing x Samber puppies reunion; a good walk in the Heath and we ended the night with a simple BBQ.

the boys and Skye walking in the Heath

Friday is the Champ Day. I was really looking forward to it, this is Sizzle's 2nd Champ of the year. He did a Champ early in the year (March), although he made it to the Final but we got faulted in the end. For a change, we have Champ Agility Qualifying round first. Normally, it's Champ Jumping first. Judge Lee Gibson set up a challenging course. I enjoyed Lee's courses, I have ran in many of his classes but never have a clear round YET!

The part that I worried the most is the weave entry but Sizzle picked the weave entry without any problem. There were a lot of dogs got eliminated for running up the A Frame instead of the tunnel but Sizzle only has eyes on the tunnel, this is why you hear me praising him like hell :) Sadly, Sizzle forgot the "in in in" and missed out the 2nd last jump :( Oh well, that's down to lack of training!

Sizzle @DiNAS Champ Agility:

I didn't run him in the Champ Jumping Qualifying round, as he was still having upset tummy. With an elimination, I know we won't be able to make it to the Final. I spent the rest of the days cheering for the Finalists and taking some photos.

this is a series of photos of Skye catching/hugging a toy:

isn't she clever?

guarding her tent LOL

Sonic and Skye are full brother and sister from 2 different litters, they are very similar in too many ways ... Sonic is a bigger version of Skye in the outlook but not colour! They have very similar expression and personality, both very crazy and playful yet very gentle.

Daddy Sing and his babies

Size does not matter, so long is a BALL :)

Skye

Tig in action with her mummy Sally

I was down to help on Saturday but I managed to run Sizzle first thing in the morning. He started well but sadly ran past a jump and followed by a bad handling to send him into the wrong end of the tunnel! WE SERIOUSLY NEED TRAINING! As we have already gone wrong, I decided to test his weave entry skill. The finish jump is the trap but good little weasel did me proud. I was very happy that we achieve that weave entry from such a distance and I made it very hard for him to find the flat entry!

Sizzle @ DiNAS Saturday G7 Agility:

That's the only run I did with Sizzle on Saturday. I didn't bother with the Jumping as it was too hot for me and I think a run a day is good for him for coming back from an injury. We did 2 jumping and 3 agility that week. I have to say, his see-saw was brilliant! Maybe a BREAK has done him good! He did 3 very good see-saw, no leaping off early, every single time, the see-saw hit the ground and there is only once he released before I tell him to. I am really very happy with him!

That conclude a GREAT week of Agility and catching up with Sing's babies. Can't wait for next year where Sonic is able to compete and more Sing's babies are coming!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

We enjoyed a great Final watching Sing's babies competing. All of them were brilliant, I am so proud of them all. They are all well loved, well taken care of and they have great partnership with their mummies! I can't wait to see them competing in the higher grades! Congratulations to Tig, Skye, Frenzi & Ace and their clever handlers!

As I was lightly competed, I enjoyed sitting by the ringside watching some fellow competitors competing with their dogs and taken some photos. I've realised how much I like my photography and I was dreaming to get one of this lens but sadly for now, I just can't afford one :( For now, I just have to make do with my 18-200.

Here are some photos I took of Sing's babies:

Sing x Samber pup - Skye

Skye and mummy Jolanda having a whisper time before their run

happy girlie

this is Tig, another Sing x Samber pup, litter sister to Skye

she is a crazy weaver :-D

Tig tunnelling

Tig again

This is handsome Ace, 22 months old, his mama is Rumor, a beautiful and clever tri colour girl, bred by Jayne Bray. A lot of people said to me he looks very much like his daddy, what do you think?

And this is Ace's litter sister Frenzi, we called her Princess Frenzi. She is very sweet little darling. She loves her agility! Both Frenzi and Ace are a week younger than Silky (Sing x Skye pup).

The main reason of we going to DiNAS is to see Samber and her puppies. Sadie lives close to the showground and she has been visiting us twice at DiNAS. Sadie is a well loved pet, she has both Sing and Samber's temperament, very sweet and gentle, very clever and LOVES tennis ball. She has such a huge coat, I don't envy her mummy grooming her :) Sadie also does some fun agility and is loving it!

beautiful Sadie is big sister to Tig and Skye

Samber's girls, Skye is the last born and Sadie is the first born, we have Tig in the middle missing :)

kinda family picture with mama Samber and Brooke missing :) Samber is living with Tig now and she was in the caravan when we took this photo; Princess Brooke was too busy so she couldn't make it. Hopefully, we will have a full family picture next year! Sally and Rhoda take note ;) LOL

Normally, we throw a little BBQ at a family reunion but sadly, the planning went horribly wrong this year :( At first, we were going; then we are not going; then we went ... so, Chris & Bill (Sadie's mummy and daddy) has other plan. We need to plan it better next year :)

At this trip, I found out all Samber's girls are very much of daddy's girl. Although, their mummies feed them, walk them, train them, basically all the interacting activities with them ... but all they want is their DADDY! How weird! They all want to be their daddy's princess! Just looking at those pictures of the girls and their daddys bring tears in my eyes. What a family!

Friday, August 24, 2012

The weather has been good at DiNAS if not a bit too hot for me! I nearly suffered a heat stroke! On Tuesday evening, we have a little sheltie meeting, Sally & Paul came over with Tig, Samber and little 'Lil. You won't believe that Sonic was so attach to his mama when he was little (there is no way I can wean him off with Samber around) and now don't want to know her. He accepted her like any other sheltie he met.

On Wednesday, I've decided to give Sizzle another go to see if he is ok to run. The first class was the G7 Agility. I walked the course and I like the challenge of this course. You have to send your dog into the tunnel underneath the DW into the weave the other side. I know I can do that and I am really confidence about Sizzle is able to pick up the weave on his own. The judge has stick a note on the DW saying No running underneath the DW (the handler) or step over the DW. I have to laugh at that note because I have seen many unsuccessful G7 dogs unable to do distance/layer handling like this.

Well, we didn't run clear unfortunately. Sizzle pop out at 8th pole. The judge set a 9 poles weave. I redo the weave and Sizzle pop out 8th pole again the 2nd time; so I decided to leave it. I got worried from Tuesday that he pop out at 7th pole. Apart from that little mistake, he ran well. Again, after that run, I was back to my worry self, not sure if that is his lower back problem or the upset tummy problem and decided to leave the Jumping and concentrate to get him better for Friday's Championship.

Sizzle @ Wednesday, G7 Agility:

At the mean time, I was busy running around the showground trying to watch all Sing's puppies competing. There were four Sing's puppies competing that week. Tig & Skye are Sonic's full sisters from Samber's first litter; Frenzi & Ace are Rumor puppies bred by Jayne Bray.

Tig was injured last year and had a season out recovering, she came back good and winning. She has her last win into Grade 7 at DiNAS. She is a cracking little dog, very driven and noisy :) We are so proud of Sal & Tig.

Skye is Tig's litter sister. She only started Agility training last year and competing this year. She did so well with Jolanda being a beginner handler. She is also driven and noisy :) We are so proud of them coming this far in such a short time.

Both girls qualified for the DiNAS Final on Thursday together with Frenzi and Ace as well. Skye ran first in Grade 1-2 Final. I was warned to stay out of the way when Skye and Tig run. These puppies love me too much that I have become the biggest distraction to them! In the normal classes, Skye has tried to run out to see me twice and Tig was wild when I was around watching :)

I so wanted to see my puppies run but I can only watch them on the video (thank God they are not running out to see Colin!). Jolanda and Skye started the Final well with an unbeatable run. They have the fastest clear round in Grade 1-2.

Skye @ G1-2 Final:

Jolanda and Skye, the winner of Small Grade 1 Final

Jolanda and Skye in the Final

(sorry for this poor photo as I have to take the photos from my hidden spot)

Jolanda and Skye on the Podium

Sally and Tig were the first one to run at Grade 6-7 Final. Sally is an experienced handler, eventhough Tig is her first small dog, but she handled her beautifully. They were very unfortunate to mark on the see-saw, they had the 2nd fastest time of all but still good enough to come 4th!

Sal & Tig @ G6-7 Final:

Sal & Tig in the Final

(sorry for this poor photo as I have to take the photos from my hidden spot)

Sal & Tig prize giving

I missed Ace's Final run, I was on my way to the ring and just about to watch him finished off the last 3 jumps :( He ran clear and came 2nd in G4. Very well done to Ace and his clever handler Kelsey.

22 months old handsome Ace coming 2nd in G4 Final

Ace with his clever handler Kelsey

Ace in action!

Ace's litter sister Princess Frenzi also made it to the Final, she is also a cracking little sheltie, highly driven and crazy. They did a smashing round, unfortunately she pop out of the weave, otherwise, another unbeatable run!

Frenzi @ G4-5 Final

Princess Frenzi in the Final

Daddy Sing is so proud of all his children doing well in The Final, this is him after being a cheer leader all day :)

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Last week, we went to DiNAS (Dogs In Need) Agility week. I have planned to go camping at this show long time ago as one of Sing x Samber's puppy Skye is coming from The Netherlands to compete. I really wanted to see Skye, so we agreed to meet and camp together. Everything went well, until the day we were about to set off to camping. I came home in tears with Sonic from the vet. I have mentioned in the earlier post about the vet wasn't happy with his lower back and wanted to perform an xRay. The original xRay schedule on the Wednesday but later that day, we had to reschedule due to some unforeseen circumstances. We only have 30 minutes to pack as I've taken everything out from the caravan thinking that we were unable to go. Well, everything went haywire ... but we managed to hit the road around 6pm, fighting through M25 traffic, thinking the Gate close at 9pm.

We got there at 8:45pm, we got in ok but the booking closed at 8pm! Tough! We weren't allow in to pitch up until the next morning. We had to park the caravan by the side. We only have a little caravan, it was fully loaded and we are unable to sleep. I was really grumpy! I was upset with Sonic's problem, haven't been thinking straight since we got back from the vet and now we got stuck outside, not being able to pitch up. I was in tear and very emotional and ready to turn back and go home for good!

While I was annoyed with the situation, Jolanda (Skye's mummy) and Sally (Tig's mummy) came to comfort me, they made me stay. I love my puppies and I came all the way just to see them compete. I just have to calm myself down (not easy!) and hopefully the daylight come sooner so I can pitch up. I have to say, whoever that booked me in in the morning was very nice. I knew I was pushy, I actually pushed him to pitch me up at 6:30am!

Thank God, I got everything done in an hour, so I can go and walk my courses. I have to say, I was very tired, with no sleep and still worried about Sonic, I was like a zombie. Sizzle has pair with Dinky Dutch, a very nice speedy little tri boy for his first class. I was rather nervous as we have not done much agility this year and I am certainly very rusty with my handling. Sizzle has no formal training since March and I have done very little with him at home. Even so, he was jumping much lower in the garden than he should be at the KC show.

Michele and Dinky Started off well, they ran a fast clear; pressure on me. I am so glad that Sizzle was a good little boy, he ran clear too, probably not his usual speedy self but good enough to put our pair into 4th place!

Sizzle and Dinky Dutch pairs:

Very proud boys ... Sizzle and Dinky Dutch

God knows that was our only rosette of the entire week, as we are getting worst ...

Soon after the pairs, we ran in the G7 Jumping. For some reason, Sizzle suddenly lost his speed after jump #4, he then tip toe into the cloth tunnel and weave funnily and pulled out at 7th pole! I wasn't sure why but I picked him up and thank the judge and walked out. My immediate thought was he hurt his lower back again, but later, I found out he had serious upset tummy! I rested him for that day and didn't do the Agility run.

Poor boy really had a bad tummy, he was absolutely fine when we left home on Monday evening. He asked to go to toilet a few times on Tuesday night.

At DiNAS, you are allow 2 runs per dog per day, one Agility and one Jumping, hence a relaxing Agility break. Some days, you get to have an extra run if you do the pairs like we did on Tuesday with Dinky. As I scratch the Agility run with Sizzle, I actually finished by 9am! We had the entire day relaxing and catching up with friends that I have not seen this year!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

It has been an emotional week last week. I took Sonic for a follow up check up 2 weeks after the first appointment about his back right leg. He was on previcox for 2 weeks and he was a very good boy, calm and quiet and show no sign of discomfort. Just as thought he is fine but when the vet manipulate his lower back, he snatched at her twice at the same spot, just like how Sizzle was reacted a few months ago! Vet was not happy about it and wanted to do an xRay on his lower back (spine) down to his pelvis area. The xRay was schedule last Wednesday but due to some unforeseen circumstances, it has to reschedule to Monday. I dropped him off early morning with heavy hearted. Since he was born into my hand, I have never leave him apart from the week we went to WAO with Sizzle. Although he doesn't show his affectionate but he is a mummy's boy, he grew to attach to me in his own way which only me can understand and feel that kind of "Sonic love".

Vet cannot find anything wrong with the xRay, in fact, everything looks good and perfect. They did suggested MRI but we can't afford at the moment. We have been through a tough time. I decided to go down the acupuncture route to see if that helps with rest. I have done it with Sizzle and he came back good; so finger crossed Sonic will be the same.

Sonic has been an angel, either he suddenly got mature or he is in pain and not show up, he is much quieter and calmer indoor. But, he gets angry if I go into the garden without doing agility with him :), so I have not been in the garden at all and Colin take him out for lead walking everyday which makes things easier for me. You know it, they all bullied their mummy :-D

Sonic has his first acupuncture appointment this morning. This is him patiently waiting for his turn at the vet.